35 Items Tagged

Microbes

Meet the Algae and Other Microbes in Your Neighborhood

All you need is a jar of local water and a microscope—you may even find new species. Welcome to Algae Obscura.

Julia Van Etten August 15, 2023

By Air, Land, or Sea, Tiny Microbes Transform Our World

They often get a bad rap, but bacteria prevent erosion, undergird ecosystems, and make artificial snow.

Susanne Wedlich March 7, 2023

Australia's other egg-laying mammal, the echidna, has a curious collection of traits, including rear-facing back feet and a unique use of "jazz hands."

Revisiting the Weird and Wonderful Nature of 2022

This year, we met creatures (and other living things) great and small, from the world’s largest organism to microscopic parasites.

Gemma Tarlach December 30, 2022

Podcast: Milky Seas

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team February 10, 2022

Podcast: Micropia

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team November 30, 2021

Sulfurous springs in the Danakil Depression discharge brine and acidic liquid.

Searching for the Limits of Life in Earth’s Most Extreme Environment

In Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression, a continent is tearing itself apart, and volcanic chemicals fuel ecosystems unlike anything else on the planet.

Robin George Andrews November 22, 2021

Podcast: Sourdough Library

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team October 12, 2021

The slight crunch underfoot is a biocrust—critical to healthy ecosystems.

Biocrusts Are an Entire World Beneath Our Feet

New research in Brazil highlights how distinctive the "living skin" of the planet can be.

Ellie Shechet February 17, 2021

One of da Vinci's self-portraits in the laboratory.

Zooming in on the Microbiome of Some da Vinci Masterpieces

A new study found plenty of bacteria, fungi, and insect remains, but nothing to be alarmed about.

Matthew Taub November 25, 2020

Could the colors of leaves indicate something beneath?

Could a Tree Help Find a Decaying Corpse Nearby?

On a “body farm,” researchers are exploring whether the nutrients from human cadavers can change the look of plants, which authorities might use to locate missing persons.

Matt Simon October 12, 2020

Lake Bonney looks quiet, but it's full of life.

If You Look Very, Very Close, Antarctica Is Teeming With Life

Meet the icy continent's menagerie of microbes.

Jessica Leigh Hester January 17, 2020

Checking In on the Algae of a Brooklyn Reservoir With a Microbiologist

Sally Warring knows a lot about what we can't see.

Sabrina Imbler December 10, 2019

Jezero Crater is the chosen landing site of the Mars 2020 mission.

space exploration

To Make a Field Guide to Life on Mars, First Head to the Deep Sea

Some scientists believe this is how we'll know what to look for.

Sabrina Imbler June 12, 2019

Heston Blumenthal (right), trying to brie calm, with Thomas Meany, maker of cheeses from humans.

These Dairy Devils Are Making Cheese From Celebrities' Bacteria

Aged, ripe, and not for consumption.

Rohini Chaki May 14, 2019

<em>Thermus scotoductus</em> hangs in hot springs, such as Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring. And in your house.

Your Water Heater Is an Extreme Environment

Microbes that thrive under the harshest conditions are making themselves right at home—in our homes.

Jessica Leigh Hester January 25, 2019

The desert landscape is varied—and often foggy.

The Secret World Inside Tiny Fog Droplets

From the Namib Desert to Maine, fog is teeming with life.

Jessica Leigh Hester August 30, 2018

Cool, There's Water on Mars. But Does It Make Good Pickles?

What would happen if briny Martian liquid met an Earthling cucumber?

Sarah Laskow August 1, 2018

Even if riders keep to themselves, microbes mix and mingle on the Hong Kong subway every day.

How Microbes Commute on the Hong Kong Subway

Meet the smallest straphangers.

Jessica Leigh Hester July 31, 2018